Medical schools have endured a flurry of policy updates and financial challenges over the last year as the U.S. faces a growing demand for healthcare professionals and universities find themselves in the crosshairs of nationwide political debates.
Here are 10 developments shaping medical schools in 2026:
1. Fifty-three U.S. medical schools plan to increase educational training on nutrition for students under a deal with the Trump administration, federal officials announced March 5. The effort aims to enhance future physicians’ ability to diagnose, treat and prevent diet-related diseases, leaders said. In a fact sheet, HHS said it developed 71 core nutrition competencies as a resource for schools that choose a competency-based approach to implementing nutrition training. The competencies were informed by a 2024 JAMA consensus statement and are intended as guidance for schools, not a mandate or directive on medical school curricula, according to HHS officials.
2. Mark Cuban made the case for free medical school at the American Medical Association’s National Advocacy Conference on Feb. 25, arguing that eliminating tuition would expand the physician talent pipeline and help address shortages in underserved areas. A large part of his argument was that the weight of student loan debt can often push medical school graduates towards higher-paying job opporunities—away from underserved communities and lower-paying specialties, like primary care and pediatrics.
3. The National Institutes of Health awarded $19.297 billion to 145 medical schools in fiscal 2025, according to data published by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research. The fiscal 2025 funding was only slightly higher than fiscal 2024, which saw 148 medical schools receive $19.193 billion in funding. The University of California San Francisco maintained the top spot on the list, receiving about $724 million in fiscal 2025 after receiving $726 million in fiscal 2024.
4. As U.S. healthcare increasingly adopts team-based care, medical schools are working to prepare students for future care delivery models that rely on coordinated teams of physicians focusing on the most complex cases while other healthcare professionals handle more routine care. This model has been growing as the U.S. physician shortage worsens, and has been adopted by several hospital systems.
5. Most medical students in the U.S. receive little or no formal training in guiding patients and their families through end-of-life care, WSU Insider reported Jan. 14. A study from Pullman-based Washington State University, published Dec. 3 in Academic Medicine, analyzed 43 articles in PubMed and Embase databases on death and dying education at medical schools between 2013 and 2025. Researchers found minimal evidence-based education on working with patients and families on end-of-life care.
Training on death can reduce fear for patients and families, as well as the provider, the study authors said. It can also reduce unnecessary medical bills and unwanted treatment, Raven Weaver, PhD, corresponding author, told WSU Insider.
6. CMS recently awarded 400 new Medicare-funded residency positions to more than 130 teaching hospitals nationwide in December 2025 as part of a broader push to expand physician training capacity, particularly in rural communities and other high-need areas.
The awards were made through Section 126 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and Section 4122 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, two separate programs that increase hospitals’ Medicare-supported residency training caps. Both initiatives prioritize hospitals in rural areas, health professional shortage areas, states with new medical schools or those training above their current residency caps.
7. When asked what gaps remain in current medical school curriculums, three physicians told Becker’s that communication skills and business knowledge are areas where many residents lac proper education.
“Simply look at what kind of work culture future graduates will enter. Increasing numbers of employed physicians with decreased autonomy,” Joe Sherman, MD, a pediatrician and physician coach in Seattle said. “Future physicians need to have some training in the business of healthcare, how to navigate business environments, and how to deal with decreased autonomy in the workplace.”
8. Physicians also told Becker’s that cost and policy surrounding loan limits were among the biggest obstacles facing medical school programs today. These concerns were echoed by several health systems and industry associations who are urging the Education Department to reconsider proposed changes to federal student loan policies, citing workforce and financial challenges that could limit care access. The proposed rule — Reimagining and Improving Student Education, published Jan. 30 — would amend regulations for federal student loan programs.
Statutory changes in HR 1 would cap federal loans for graduate and professional students, creating a $20,500 annual borrowing limit for graduate students and a $50,000 annual limit for professional students. Under the rule, healthcare fields including physician assistants and nurse practitioners would not be considered professional degrees and would limit the money students could borrow from federal student loan programs for those roles, according to a Feb. 26 news release from Duluth, Minn.-based Essentia Health. Physical therapy, occupational therapy, social work and education would also be excluded from the department’s definition of professional degree programs.
9. Attorneys general in 22 states filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration Feb. 10, aiming to prevent significant cuts to federal grant funding for medical research projects. . Hours later, U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley issued a temporary restraining order to block the National Institutes of Health from implementing a new policy to cut reimbursements for research-related costs within the 22 states that filed the lawsuit.
10. For the seventh year in a row, the number of medical residents grew by about 4,000 in 2024-25, for a total of 163,189 residents, according to the AAMC’s annual Report on Residents.
